Nov. 18, 2012

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Interested?

• A meeting for owners and developers of manufactured/mobile home parks and other interested residents will be held from 4-5:30 p.m., today, at Harmony Library, 4616 S. Shields St., Fort Collins. • A meeting for residents of manufactured/mobile home parks and other interested residents will be held from 6:30-8 p.m., today at Northside Aztlan Community Center, 112 Willow St. For questions or more information call Ken Waido, chief planner, (970) 221-6753 or kwaido@fcgov.com. For more information on this planning effort and to sign-up for email alerts, please visit fcgov.com/mobilehomes.

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When two mobile home parks on the outskirts of Fort Collins closed recently to make way for commercial or residential developments, nearly 50 families were displaced and with them went some of the most affordable housing in the area.

Many residents struggled to find places they could afford or new lots for their mobile homes, many manufactured before 1976 when new safety and quality standards were put in place.

In each case the city of Fort Collins tried to help by collaborating with other agencies to relocate or find other housing for park residents. Now the city wants to clarify its role, responsibilities and obligations when redevelopment forces low-income people from their homes.

Today the city will host two meetings to get input from those displaced by redevelopment and those doing the redevelopment. The meetings are designed to clarify city policies and strategies for handling displacement and relocation efforts in the future and address ways to preserve existing mobile home parks, which the city considers an important component of its affordable housing inventory.

Both meetings will share mobile home park preservation and stabilization techniques and explore options such as special zoning districts, resident ownership and infrastructure financial assistance. Staff also will share proposed changes to its role in the notice of park closures and relocation assistance requirements.

The latest closure involved 32 families living in the 17-acre Bender Mobile Home Park on Wood Street that was sold to Gino Campana last year. Campana plans to build single-family homes along the banks of the Poudre River trail. Some residents moved their trailers to the North Star Mobile Home Community or the Poudre Valley Mobile Home Park. Others found apartments or moved out of state. Some simply walked away from the mobile homes.

The city earmarked $50,000 to assist residents with a cap of $2,000 per household. Thirteen households received a total of $26,000 in assistance, primarily for moving expenses such as transporting trailers, according to city officials.

Previously, about a dozen families were displaced from the Grape Street mobile home park to make way for the new North College Marketplace anchored by King Soopers.

In a September meeting about affordable housing, the city noted about 1,200 mobile homes in the city, 1,100 units in the county but close to city limits and another 700 units in the county.